The Devil That You Don't Know
by Morrigayn DeWyvern
Summary: TF: Prime Megatron finds himself in the Shattered Glass Universe of the one he knew. Heed the A/N. This is a very horrific story. There will be dark & sadistic themes in keeping with the alternative universe. No smut. Will contain triggers.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is a TF: Prime Shattered Glass story. This is a very dark story. There will be dark & sadistic themes in keeping with the alternative universe. No smut. Will contain triggers. _

_Yakutia Valley is an actual place in Siberia in the Tunguska area. It has a collection of strange metallic spheres/cauldrons partially embedded in the ground. These have been spoken about for centuries. People have visited the area in modern times. People report getting sick from exposure to these metallic objects, and that there are mutations in the flora and fauna of the valley. Native tribes consider the area cursed. No one has come up with any conclusive theories as to what they are. Fringe science suggests they are of extraterrestrial origins. _

_Megatron (Prime) _

_I don't own anything. I don't make money, either._

The Devil that You Don't Know

Soundwave had sent coordinates of the energon signature immediately to Megatron. The energon signature was strong indicating a great deposit. The map on the computer screen showed a remote area of Siberia in an isolated valley, Yakutia. It was fortuitous that the area was so devoid of humans. Greatly reduced the chance of gaining the Autobots'attention. Soundwave noted the unusual background radiation in the area but assumed it was left over traces from the asteroid exploding in nearby Tunguska over a century before.

Energon was a precious commodity even on the body of the Chaos Bringer. While the Decepticons had plenty of energon, the idea was to starve the Autobots. Megatron was ebullient at the news and quickly formed a squadron of ground based and flyer Vehicons as well as a contingent of Insecticons for shock troops. Megatron would be leading this mission.

The ground bridge flared sickly green in the mist that clung thickly to valley floor. The flyers quickly burst through flying in increasing arcs scanning the deposit for humans or Autobots. They easily maneuvered around the dead trees leaning at odd angles. Vehicons in automobile mode drove quickly through the tear in the space continuum. They spun and swerved in the clay slurry and dying grass. Insecticons burst through next. Their humming and shrieking echoed eerily off of the valley walls as they disappeared into the thick miasma.

Megatron sauntered through last with a smirk and gazed upon the valley as though he were Lord of All Creation. The moon was new. Stars twinkled in the millions shining brightly in the absence of the light of the moon. Megatron could see the bright reflections of energon in cracks betwixt the boulders. The mist swirled around his peds. The air was cold and fresh. He laughed in brutal joy.

The exultation was short. Moments later another ground bridge opened. The small contingent of Autobots rushed through with weapons blazing. Megatron cursed them and directed his troops to attack.

Megatron and the Vehicons were slowly being driven back from the raw energon found in a mountain chain surrounding the Yakutia. Energon blasts from the Autobots were pelting the band of Decepticons. Many of the blasts Prime and his small band of misfits were deadly. Megatron watched his band of Vehicons and Insecticons being blown to bits. Megatron roared loudly at the benefit of the relics carried with the Autobots. Megatron circled round to a small metallic dome to take advantage of height and the element of surprise.

Optimus saw Megatron looming above the battleground onlining his fusion cannon to blast the small group of Autobots at the other side of the valley. He quickly unsheathed the Star Sabre. It activated and was enveloped in brilliant blue-white energy. With a strong swing, a wave of energy was unleashed and rolled across the valley destroying the various Decepticon drones that were in its way. Megatron turned at the last moment to see the wave of furious energy as it collided with the dome he was standing upon.

A fierce plasma storm erupted from the large metallic dome. Bolts of purple and blue lightning shot in all directions vaporizing plants, animals and the Vehicons that were too close to the cauldron. The storm increased intensity pulsing waves of lightning and energy further into the sky. Insecticons were destroyed as t hey lost control and flew into the miasma. The storm of energy spread wider. 'Cons and Autobots alike retreated from the encroaching destruction and hid behind large outcroppings of rock or retreat into the small caves that dotted the valley walls. The 'Cons and 'Bots covered their optics from the searing light. The humming sound reverberating from the event shorted audios of the robotic life forms and sent the more sensitive of organic life forms fleeing in panic.

The storm of energy abruptly began to roll back upon itself. It collapsed quickly-crackling energy and humming becoming intensifying to a fever pitch. As the storm collapsed, it began to pull anything it touched with it. Trees, grass, leaves, boulders, stones, dirt and bodies of the fallen were all lifted and contorted haphazardly in the retreating energy. Seconds later, the entirety disappeared.

Silence was deafening after such a cacophony.

Slowly, Decepticons and Autobots uncovered optics and audios. Both sides slowly came from hiding to look around. The whole valley was scoured. Nothing but permafrost was left. Not a tree leaf or blade of grass could be detected. Great, stinking holes were left where trees were torn from their ancient foundations. Deep ruts scored the valley in haphazard, crisscross fashion from boulders and stones being sucked along to the vortex. Where Megatron and the cauldron once stood was nothing. Not a hole. Not detritus. Nothing. It was permafrost. There was no evidence that a large, metallic dome was ever sunken deep in the permafrost or that the Gladiator of Kaon stood upon it.

The Vehicons and Insecticons broke from the fugue of confusion first. They made a haphazard retreat from the valley leaving the energon and what every evil that destroyed their lord. They sent multiple, panic stricken garbled messages back to the Nemesis. A ground bridge opened and the remainder of the Decepticons quickly entered it. The glowing eye of the bridge winked closed in a second leaving the Autobots alone in the quiet dark.

No frogs or crickets chirped. No insects scurried. No large animals were moving. The Autobots stared mutely as the motley crew disappeared into the ground bridge.

Smokescreen broke the eerie silence with is usual diatribe and frantic hand waving. "What just happened, dude?"

Optimus shook his helm and rubbed at his audios, "I don't know, Smokescreen. I don't know. We need to gather the energon and return to base. Ratchet and I will come back to investigate later."

Bulkhead silently went to one of the walls. He transformed his hands into wrecking balls and began to knock huge chunks of earth and stone free revealing a large cluster of energon crystals. Bumblebee joined him and began to harvest the crystals.

Optimus spoke to Smokescreen, "Go help the others gather energon. Arcee and I will keep watch."

Smokescreen made a moue of distaste but silently went to assist Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

Arcee kept her weapons drawn and scanned the area. "You think Megatron is offlined? Is that the last of old bucket head?" She asked as she turned this way and that looking for any surviving Decepticons that had been left behind.

"We must behave as if he is still online and working to return to the Decepticons. We have assumed him offlined before only to have him return to thwart us." Optimus said quietly as he scanned the area. He was collecting data as well as looking for residual 'Cons. Ratchet would need fresh data if he was to unravel this mystery.

Arcee nodded and decided to scout the area. She disappeared into the darkness. Here and there Optimus could see a reflection of starlight or energon off of her armor.

Meanwhile, aboard the Nemesis, the survivors collapsed on the floors as soon as the ground bridge. Insecticons were first to regain strength and made their way to the bowls of the Nemesis to their hive to hide and grieve the losses of their kind.

Dreadwing and Soundwave made their way to the ground bridge to confront the remaining Vehicons. It was easier to speak to and understand the Vehicons. Insecticons were barely sentient and much of how they saw the world made no sense to any other than themselves.

"Where is Lord Megatron?" Dreadwing demanded.

A tired, broken Vehicon stood up and shook his helm. "We don't know sir."

Dreadwing growled, "What do you mean you do not know?"

The Vehicon shook his helm. "He disappeared."

Dreadwing raised himself to his full height and spread his wings in rage. "Was he captured by the Autobots? Killed?"

The drone shook his helm in the negative. "No sir, he just disappeared…"

Dreadwing drew his swords. "No one just disappears, you fool!" He made to run the drone through when Soundwave extended a tentacle and touched the large Seeker's wing.

"_Let Soundwave look inside this drone's processor." _Soundwave telepathically spoke to Dreadwing. The survivors were radiating abject terror and confusion to Soundwave's telepathic mind.

"Go with Soundwave, you fool. If you are lying, I will destroy you and every one of your group that returned!" Dreadwing raged at the trembling Vehicon.

It nodded and followed Soundwave to his lab. There, Soundwave had the Vehicon lay on a berth.

"_Soundwave will not harm." _He let the Vehicon know. The Vehicon began to ventilate deeply and the trembling stopped. He gently opened the data ports on the helm of the Vehicon and inserted the connectors from his tentacles.

Soundwave quickly and painlessly sorted through the files and data trees of the Vehicon's processor. Memories and emotions poured forth. While Soundwave kept his own self cordoned off from the Vehicon, he quailed in his spark at what he retrieved and saw. A few moments later he released the Vehicon.

"_Return to your quarters." _Soundwave ordered the Vehicon. It closed the data ports on its helm and stood slowly. It made a shaky exit privately thanking Primus that it was still online.

Dreadwing entered the lab as soon as the Vehicon left. He had been pacing impatiently outside while Soundwave worked. He glared at Soundwave as he entered. Soundwave stood still. His faceplate was completely blank. Tentacles hung limply. He looked defeated.

"Well, Soundwave, what have you discovered?" Dreadwing demanded.

Soundwave's faceplate flickered to life. Dreadwing watched in growing horror the events from the Vehicon's optics. At the end, Soundwave's faceplate fell dark again.

"That's it?" Dreadwing asked. "Lord Megatron is gone? Disappeared?"

"_Soundwave will interrogate others that returned. Soundwave and Dreadwing will investigate."_

Dreadwing scowled at the silent wraith. It was an answer, but not the one hoped for.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Megatron came to consciousness slowly. The memories of what had gone before were vivid until the dome he had stood upon had begun to emit energy. He could not access anything after that in his memory banks. He felt no pain but intense pressure as though the hand of Unicron were squeezing the air from his intakes. Megatron onlined his optics and found himself under a heap of detritus. He could make out trees, bushes, mud, boulders and the grey husks of dead Vehicons. It appeared he was buried under the mass.

With a feral roar, Megatron began to blast and hack his way free. Trees were cut asunder with his blade. Blasts from his cannon caused the rocks, mud and the dead to explode into superheated bits. He ignored the pain from the fiery splinters and molten metals and continued to work his way free of the heap.

With a great bellow and heave, Megatron tore himself free of the last of the entangling mass. He stretched his arms to work out the strain and cramps in his shoulder joints and back struts. Megatron then cautiously looked around.

The Yakutia Valley was completely covered in trees. The air was brisk and cold. The moon was full and illuminated the forest in a soft, mercurial glow. There was no sign of the cauldrons or the battle. He searched for energon signatures that would be present even if the deposit were stripped. There were always small chunks left in the rocks. Nothing. He could hear small animals scurrying through the brush, the babbling of water from the river and the occasional crash of larger animals moving clumsily through the dense vegetation.

Megatron rebooted his optics in confusion, re-calibrated his directional sensors and checked his map on his HUD again. He then ran an internal diagnostic. The results were within normal parameters. All of his systems were optimal. He suffered no permanent damage from the battle. He was a bit low on energon as was to be expected. He was not unconscious for a very long time. Then why was the valley different?

Megatron tried the communication lines to the Nemesis and met with static. He tried the personal communication lines for Soundwave and Starscream with the same results. A faint trickle of unease slid insidiously into his processor.

"What is Unicron's damned pit is going on?" Megatron murmured.

He turned his optics to the skies looking for signs of the Nemesis. He filtered his optics through the various wavelengths of the spectrum as well as filtering for Cybertronian energy signatures and cloaking. Megatron staggered at the results of the scan.

There was nothing in the skies of the Earth. No trails from the engines of jets. Very little pollution from the inhabitants of this planet. Very little light pollution from cities. There were neither satellites in orbit that he could see nor detritus from the space trips of the humans. Furthermore, there were slight variations in the position of the stars and planets. There was plenty of Cybertronian technology in the planet's atmosphere and in orbit, but none of it was remotely similar to Decepticon or Autobot make.

The sense of disorientation grew so strong that the warlord had to sit down on the ground. What had happened at the battle? Why were portions of his memory banks corrupted or blank? Something was very wrong.

Megatron sat quietly for a while trying to figure out what had happened. His processor ran in circles and came up with no explanation that was reasonable. When his processor began to ache, he quit and stood up. Megatron was never one for idleness. He would investigate the area carefully to try to make sense of the data he was receiving.

Megatron decided against taking to the skies. There were so few items in the sky that flying would draw undue attention. He deactivated his fusion cannon. He was low enough on energon that unnecessary firing could leave him depleted. He kept his sword arm ready. For all his great height and mass, the gladiator could move quietly when he wished. He kept his sensors and EM field flared to their fullest to detect both organic and Cybertronian life forms.

While the area was considered sparsely populated, he was silently amazed at the complete lack of human population in the area. There were no railways, bridges or roads that had been part of the landscape before the battle. There were no small villages with basic electricity or satellite connection. There were not even human scientific settlements. Nothing. It was if the entire region has been abandoned or never developed.

Megatron walked for hours in the dark hoping to find evidence of Decepticons. As the night wore on, he began to even hope for signs of Autobots. When the sun began to peek above the horizon, he wished even for signs of humans. The oddness of the situation was beginning to wear on his processor. The constant state of alertness and battle ready protocols humming had depleted him. He was exhausted and needed to recharge and defrag.

Megatron found a small cave, not much more than a hole for a mech is size, in the mountains that ringed the valley. He made sure there were no other entrances to the cave as not to be ambushed. He also checked for organic life forms. He did not want to become infested with the life forms of this planet. Their chewing and waste could wreak havoc on his delicate circuitry and systems. When he was sure that the area was as clear and safe as it could be, he made his way into the cave, made himself as comfortable as possible, and fell into a deep recharge.

Megatron woke sometime later to pure agony. His body writhed and jerked as energy and bolts of electricity ran through his protoform and popped across his armor. He could see nothing but white and his audios were full of static. Even so, the old gladiator fought to roll over and pull himself out of the cave. Just as the electric storm was retreating, he saw another static grenade rolled into the cave. He watched in rage and horror as the device exploded enveloping him in another wave of suffering. He yelled in pain and continued to try to get out of the cave to defend himself. This grenade was stronger than the last and left the warlord paralyzed upon the dirt floor of the cave. He could hear voices outside.

"C'mon, Bulk. Use them balls to open up the cave. Prime wants him alive and relatively unharmed. Stupid, fuckin' Con recharging in a cave. If that don't beat all."

Megatron recognized the voice of Wheeljack. What he surprised him was the amount of venom and spite he heard in the tone. He supposed Wheeljack was speaking to the other Wrecker, Bulkhead.

Huge blows were landed on the mountain and the cave. Megatron could hear large portions of the wall falling away. He could also hear the grunting of the two mechs as they moved the boulders free. The cave entrance slowly opened.

"Jackie, can we play with him before we turn him over…"

Wheeljack turned and belted the large, green Wrecker right in the lip plates. "Shut your Primus damned lip plates! You know how Prime is concerning Megatronus. Don't even think about that shit…"

"Fuck you, Jackie!" Bulkhead bit out between clenched dentals.

Jackie shook his helm, lifted his hands in supplication and whispered, "Don't ever get on Prime's bad side…the things he is capable of…and he listens to everything." Jackie shuddered at memories of his one and only visit to the palace in Iacon. He still had fluxes in recharge at the gruesome sights and sounds.

Bulkhead sobered at his friend's apparent fear. "Let's get this done then, Jackie."

Megatron had listened in disbelief at the conversation between the two Wreckers. Afraid of Optimus Prime? That overly sentimental fool? Megatronus? Megatron hadn't gone by that name in millennia. What madness was this? He wondered if they had been inhaling the solvents on this planet.

Soon bright sunlight filtered into the cave blinding the sensitive optics of Megatron. He tried to shutter his optics but he was still paralyzed by the static grenade. He could make out the dark outlines of the two Wreckers in the light. Wheeljack threw a lasso with a grappling hook. The hook dug deep into the left shoulder joint of Megatron. Wheeljack pulled hard on the line multiple times to ensure it was well placed.

"Okay, Bulk, we got a fishie. Let's reel him in." Wheeljack said with malignant glee. Bulkhead laughed and also grabbed the line. They both pulled hard.

Megatron hissed as the barbs on the hook buried themselves deeper and deeper into his protoform and joints. Slowly, he began to move forward over the rough terrain. Rocks and dirt lodged deep in his seams and faceplates. His armor squealed, shrieked and dented as he was yanked over and through large rocks. Finally, he was pulled in the daylight. He felt rough hands pull him up and over on his back struts.

Wheeljack and Bulkhead bent over to take a closer look at their prey. Megatron stared in wide opticed shock at optics that were as crimson as his own.


End file.
